Nico at Goode High
by MondayWren
Summary: Nico di Angelo is moving to yet another foster home. Under the care of Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis, Nico might just learn that he does have a home with the Jacksons. He meets a boy named Will Solace at Goode High and comes to terms with his sexuality. (No powers AU) (Mentions of self-harm and mental illness)
1. Chapter 1

Nico di Angelo sat silently in the back of the car, his social worker glancing back at him every once in a while. As if to make sure he hadn't disappeared. He was good at that, disappearing. He leaned his head against the window and stared out at the dull trees and identical white picket fences that surrounded perfect little houses. The car was silent, but it wouldn't stay like that for long, David was a talker.

"This family will be good for you, Nico. They're the Jacksons. Sally is a single mother with a boy about your age. She's engaged to a man named Paul Blofis."

Nico raised his eyes to meet David's to acknowledge that he'd heard him.

"Sally is a good woman. I met with her myself the other day."

Anger bubbled in Nico's stomach. The other day while Nico was stuck in a group home. "You always say that." He muttered under his breath. Still, he knew that David could hear him.

"She really is a wonderful lady. I know you've had a tough time in your previous homes but I checked her out myself. And I'll visit you every day for the next week. Percy's a nice boy as well, I can assure you. Paul is a kind man as well. He's a teacher at Goode High School, where you'll be attending on Monday."

Nico pressed his lips together and said nothing as he continued to stare out the window. He knew enough to not get his hopes up. Every single home he'd been to ended in disaster. Every. Single. One.

"Ah, here we are." he pulled into the driveway of a small house, "Mrs. Jackson and her son live with her fiance." he stopped the car and turned to look Nico straight in the eyes, "If you need anything, ever, you know my number."

Nico nodded and unbuckled, sitting up and ignoring the concern in David's eyes. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He grabbed his trash bag with all of his possessions and slipped out the car door.

The house was like any other ordinary house. With lightly peeling white paint on the garage door and hydrangea bushes in the front yard. Nico followed David up to the front porch which was cleaner than a lot of other houses he'd been to. He relaxed a bit. He usually knew right away if a family was going to be an immediate problem. At least he'd have a few days of peace.

David knocked on the door and a lady with long brown hair opened the door. She had eyes the color of the sea that sparkled in he light. She didn't smoke, Nico could tell. She didn't take drugs. "Hi, Mrs. Jackson?"

"That's me, and you must be David and Nico." She smiled warmly down at Nico. "Come on in, I made cookies."

David gave a pointed look at Nico who merely rolled his eyes. "We're very grateful that you could take Nico in such short notice. It just have been difficult." Nico and David kicked off their shoes.

"Oh it was no problem. We already had a guest room ready." She led them into her living room. "Have a seat. Do you two want anything to drink?"

"No thanks, Mrs. Jackson."

"It's Sally." She looked at Nico. "What about you?"

Nico ignored her, staring down at the carpet.

David placed his hand on his shoulder. "Nico's just a bit shy. He'll warm up soon enough."

"I understand. I was shy when I was younger as well." Sally placed a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table in front of Nico.

"They're blue . . ."

Sally laughed, a warm tinkling sound, "A habit I suppose. Percy's favorite color is blue."

"Where is he anyway?" David asked.

Sally glanced over at the digital clock on the microwave. "He should be coming home from his friends' house any second now. I told him to be home five minutes ago but he always loses track of time. I'll text him if he isn't back in the next five minutes."

David nodded. "I'm just here to make sure Nico gets settled in, but we already went over everything yesterday."

"Right." Sally stood up as David did and shook his hand firmly.

David looked one over at Nico. "You good?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah."

David nodded and followed Sally to the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow Nico. Be nice." The door clicked behind him and Sally wandered back over to where Nico sat on the couch.

Sally approached Nico and sat beside him on the couch. "Do you want to see your room? It's upstairs, right next to Percy's room. You're welcome anywhere in the house."

Nico nodded and stood up, adjusting his grip on his trash bag. He followed Sally up the stairs. "Right there." She pointed to a closed bedroom door. "I'll come get you for dinner in a bit."

He said nothing, just opened the door to his new bedroom and closed the door tight. Nico dropped his bag on the floor next to the bed. He was so tired. He pulled back the blankets a bit awkwardly, feeling like he was going to get in trouble for touching something that wasn't his. He curled up under the blankets and stared at the wall. Today was a bad day. One of those days where everything was falling apart and he didn't even know why. He grabbed his headphones out of the trash bag and plugged them into his smartphone. It was a belated birthday gift from David when once again, the awful home he'd been placed in didn't allow his to make phone calls.

He turned the volume up until he was sure that it would drown out the world and blasted music until he was numb inside. Nico relaxed against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. He shivered and pulled the blankets tighter against himself. Should he unpack this time? Or leave everything in his bag? How soon would he be leaving? That was the question. He supposed it would be one of his longer stays. His families always got tired of him, no matter how put together they were. He rolled over and hoisted his bag onto the bed. He reached inside and pulled out a few photographs. He dropped the one of his father right back into his bag but placed the one of Bianca and his mother onto the side table. He didn't have a picture of his half-sister Hazel. Not yet anyway.

He tensed as his door opened and whipped off his headphones. The music boomed loudly from the small speakers. A boy who was very obviously older than him entered. "Hey." He grinned at him. "I'm Percy. You're Nico, my mom told me. She also told me to get you for dinner."

"I'm not hungry." Nico looked away. This boy was _hot_.

Percy laughed. "Too bad. Mom'll freak if you don't go downstairs. Even if you don't eat she likes spending quality family time together."

"I'm not part of your family."

Percy leaned against the foot of the bed. "C'mon. You don't even have to say anything. Just sit there and brood."

Nico grunted and moved his trash bag to the side so he could climb slowly out of bed. "Whatever."

He followed Percy to the dining room where Sally and Paul were already sitting. "Hi Nico." Sally said. "This is my fiance, Paul Blofis. He's going to be your English teacher." She gestured to the man beside her.

Paul gave him a small smile. "Hi."

Nico nodded at him and sat beside Mrs. Jackson. "How much do you want, Nico?" Sally asked.

"I'm not hungry."

Sally's face fell. "Oh, okay."

Percy gave Nico a pointed look from across the table as he scooped a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

Nico hesitated. "I guess I could eat a little."

Sally grinned and spooned a bit of food onto Nico's plate. "Your first day of school is tomorrow." She said. "Percy will show you around. I know it's difficult starting at a new school. Percy's been to quite a few as well."

Nico nodded and nibbled on the edge of a piece of bread.

Sally continued, "I tried to get you into some of Percy's classes but he's two grades above you. Unfortunately the only class of his I could get you into was advisory. But you will have lunch together too."

Nico kept nodding along. "Um, actually Mrs. Jackson-"

"-Sally."

"Right . . . Sally. I was actually hoping that I could see my sister, Hazel sometime this week. She likes to check in when I move homes."

"Yes of course. Your social worker didn't mention a sister."

"Hazel's my half-sister on my dad's side." Nico said.

Percy leaned forward in interest. "Is she in foster care too?"

"No. She lives with her boyfriend's grandmother. So . . . yes _technically_ she's in the system, but she's not leaving anytime soon."

Sally nodded and chewed a bite of chicken. "Well I'm really excited to meet her." Nico looked at her warily. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be hanging around while you two talk but I definitely want to meet her."

Nico relaxed. "Okay. She'll probably want to meet you too. She'll be glad you're not a druggie."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: mentions of self-harm**

Nico slept terribly that night. He was so tired but he just couldn't seem to be able to fall asleep. He'd had terrible insomnia since Bianca died. Anything could happen if he closed his eyes. Anything. Maybe he was just being paranoid but he couldn't help it. He was finally able to fall asleep at 1:30 AM, when he could no longer force his eyes open.

He woke to Percy shaking his arm, "Hey Neeks. You should get up. The bus leaves in half an hour."

"Neeks?"

"Yup." He ducked out of the room. "Hurry up."

Nico stared at where Percy had been in awe. He pulled back the covers and hopped out of bed. He didn't have a lot of clothes in the trash bag of his but the clothes he did have were black. He'd found that black was the best color for his situation. Blend in with the shadows and _try_ not to attract attention. That was the last thing he needed. He pulled off the only pair of pajamas he owned and replaced the black fleece with a skull t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. He lifted his aviator jacket. The last thing Bianca had given him. It had been too big on him at first but he'd grown into it. He placed his headphones around his neck and looked in the body length mirror hung on the oak door or the guest bedroom.

He rubbed at the dark circles around his eyes and frowned. Sighing, he grabbed a small black backpack out of his trash bag. If he could fit all of his stuff in that backpack he would, but unfortunately it was too small. He slung the bag over his shoulder and grabbed the extra picture of Bianca and him. It was small and worn but it was his charm. He brought it everywhere with him. A while back he made several copies at the library just in case something were to happen to the one he carried with him. carefully, he slipped the photo into pocket.

"C'mon Neeks. The bus will be here soon." He heard Percy's voice outside the door.

"I'm coming." He opened the door and frowned at the boy smiling at him from mere inches away.

He couldn't help but study his new foster brother. The beautiful blue eyes, cute smile. Nico shunned the thoughts, banished them to the back of his mind. It was wrong. He told himself. It was wrong to feel that way about a boy. He looked away in shame.

"You coming?" Percy asked and grabbed him by the elbow. "I can't miss the bus again."

"Yeah." He grabbed his cell and closed his door behind him. "I'm right behind you." He slipped on his beat-up shoes at the entrance. A few months ago he'd duck taped the sole back onto the rest of the shoe but the tape was about to be worn completely through. There was a hole in the top of his shoe too but that didn't matter too much.

"You need new shoes." Percy commented.

Nico scowled at Percy's brand new sneakers. "No kidding."

"Don't your other families buy you new shoes."

Nico snorted but said nothing. Instead he tied the laces and followed Percy out the door to the bus stop.

"I want to introduce you to my friends." Percy said. "I'm sure you'll like them. I have a girlfriend. Her name's Annabeth. Smartest girl in the entire school." He laughed. "Don't know why she would ever fall for me. I'm failing most of my classes."

There was a pang in Nico's heart when he heard "girlfriend" of course Percy would have a girlfriend. He looked at the frozen ground grimly. Percy wasn't a freak, not like him. He leaned against the sign at the bus stop and put his headphones on. This was the worst part. No matter how much he distanced himself, it still hurt having no friends. He didn't know why this place would be any different at all. He didn't want to be hurt by anyone and the best way to assure that is to make sure he never got to know anyone. That way it would be so much easier to leave. He had a motto: _Don't get attached. Don't say goodbye._ It was a lonely life but it was his life.

The rickety bus pulled up to the sidewalk and kids began to file on. Percy made a beeline for a girl with curly blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. He kissed her on the lips gently and sat next to her with his arm pulled around her back. Nico winced and sat beside the first empty seat in the front of the bus. He'd found that usually the youngest kids sat in the front and he was a freshman.

The bus was loud but Nico drowned it out with his music. Loud music. Anything to numb himself and block out the world. The bus pulled to a stop in front of the enormous campus of Goode High. He was the first one off the bus and headed straight for advisory. He didn't bother with lockers unless it was against the rules to carry your backpack around. Locker combinations weren't particularly tricky to learn, but it was a hassle when you moved every few months.

He pulled his headphones back around his neck and wandered into homeroom. The teacher was a tall graying man who slumped over his computer. There was an incredibly bright kid talking to him. The kid had shaggy blond hair that practically glowed in the fluorescent lights.

The teacher saw Nico approach and beckoned him over, "And here he is now. Nico di Angelo, William is going to be showing you around for the next few weeks. We always pair up new kids with a guide that will have all of their classes to make the transition to Goode High easier."

The boy smiled at Nico. "It's just Will."

Nico was having a hard time forming his thoughts. He was cute. Nico pushed the thoughts away. _Stop thinking like a freak._ He told himself. He nodded at Will. "We have all of the same classes."

"Yeah." Will grinned. "That's going to be fun."

Nico squinted. he couldn't tell if Will was being sarcastic.

"You have an accent." Will commented.

"I was born in Italy."

"That's so cool." Will grinned at him.

Nico shrugged and looked over at the teacher, "Where do I sit."

The teacher lowered his glasses and pointed to a seat on the end of the classroom. "By Will."

 _Great._ What did he do to deserve this? "Thanks." He hung his backpack around the back of the chair. He quickly felt for Bianca's picture in his pocket. It was still there. At that moment Percy walked in, flanked by a crowd of people. " _God save me_." He muttered in fluent Italian.

Percy lit up like a Christmas tree the second he saw Nico sulking in the corner of the room. "Neeks!" He rushed over to him, and all at once Nico was surrounded by strangers.

Will gave him a surprised look. "You know Percy?" He muttered.

"He's my foster brother."

Will's eyebrows shot upward. "Well he's the most popular boy in the entire school."

Nico groaned and muttered a string of curses in Italian.

Percy leaned against his desk. "This is my girlfriend Annabeth." He pointed to the curly haired blonde from the bus. "My bro Jason and his girlfriend Piper. This is Leo and his girlfriend Calypso. And this is Reyna."

"Fantastic." Nico glanced warily at the group and then looked over at Will who was snickering into his sleeve.

Leo squinted at him. "Hey! I totally know you! You're Hazel's half-brother! She has a picture of you in her bedroom."

"You know Hazel?" Percy and Nico said in unison.

"Yeah. Before I moved here she was my neighbor. We still keep in touch."

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Cool." What a coincidence. This was not going to be good in the long run.

The first bell rang and Percy's friends said their goodbyes. They walked out the door laughing and chatting about things Nico didn't understand, another reminder that he just didn't belong. Will smiled at him and slipped into his own seat. He was like a humanized ray of sunshine and it was starting to get on Nico's nerves.

Will scooted closer and leaned in. "Say something in Italian."

What was he? Will's personal google translator. "Fuck off." He said in Italian.

"Cool what did that mean?"

"Sunshine and unicorns." Nico said sarcastically.

Will didn't seem to understand sarcasm. "Nice! I can only speak English. This is my second year of Spanish and I can only say _No hablo espanol._ Which I'm pretty sure means that I can't speak Spanish."

He honestly couldn't care less. He was going to leave sooner or later. _Don't get attached._ It was the number one rule and always the hardest to follow. The loneliness ate away at him. It hurt, a lot. But heartbreak hurt worse. He'd rather have the loneliness then run the risk of getting his heart broken because he had to move yet again. He supposed that he did have Hazel. That was something. But it just wasn't enough. He talked to his counselor Mr. Henry too, but it wasn't the same. He and Mr. Henry weren't friends. He was being paid to talk to him. He almost laughed. The government had to _pay_ someone to talk to him.

Nico was pretty sure he knew what was on his file. He was fourteen, so everything he told his counselor was confidential. Mr. Blofis and Mrs. Jackson probably knew about his depression, but probably not to what extent. And he probably wouldn't be with them when summer came around and he continued to wear long sleeves. A bubble of shame rose to his chest but he shoved it down.

"You want to sit with me at lunch?" Will asked.

Nico shrugged. "No."

Will's face fell and he turned so that he faced the front of the class. "Oh."

Nico felt a bit bad, but he just . . . he just _couldn't. Afford. To get. Attached._


End file.
